


A Life Upon

by Always_Smile



Series: Skyrim Quests [1]
Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama & Romance, Multi, Still trying to figure tags out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-02-12 23:43:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12971004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Always_Smile/pseuds/Always_Smile
Summary: Axelia is a nord that was originally born in Skyrim. One day when she was just a baby, her family were assassinated by the guards that were sent by the Emperor. They were murdered under false news. After finding out that they were innocent, it was too late, only Axelia was left. The guards came back with her to the Emperor and told him the what really happened. The Emperor, feeling bad for Axelia, took her under his care, like his own child. When Axelia turned 11, the Emperor finally told her the truth of why she is so different from the rest of her family and what really happened to her real family. She grew hatred towards the Emperor and his family, and ran with the wrong crowd. She learned a lot of survival with them and new skills. At the age of 20, Axelia decided to pack up and leave and return to her true home in Skyrim. Not knowing that much of Skyrim, except from her some visits, she decides to explore on her own and have a normal life. Now with her new life in Skyrim, she will continue to adventure and see where it would take her, she might even fall for some people..





	1. Where It All Started

_‘Where am I?’_ , Axelia thought to herself. She looked around where she was, not recognizing the area. She must have trip or something. But how come she could not move her hands, she looked down to see her hands bound together. _‘What deep shit am I in now? This had better be a prank.’_ As far as she can tell she was on a carriage, with others she did not recognize. “You're finally awake,” said a man who was sitting across from her. “Had me worried there.”

“Where am I?” Axelia asked.

Before he could respond, another man spoke, “I don't belong here!” with a panic in his voice.

“Quiet, thief! You belong here just like the rest of us when you stole that horse,” said the man across from Axelia.

She looked to her side and there was a man whose hands were bound, but something else was wrong; he was gagged with a cloth tied around his mouth. “Who is he?” asked Axelia. The man looked at her with a stunned face, but answered nevertheless, even if somewhat appalled. “You honestly do not know who he is? He is Ulfric Stormcloak, the true high king. My name is Ralof. We were set up and captured by the imperials, he saved our lives by telling us to stand down.”

“Oh…?.” Axelia said in a hushed tone, still not knowing how she ended up here. She remembered sprinting down a road at night when she felt something hit the back of her head and fell to the ground unconscious. Maybe she was just in the wrong area at the wrong time.

The rest of the carriage ride was quiet until they reached a small town named Helgen.

“Death to the stormcloaks! Death to Ulfric Stormcloak!!” a nord woman had shouted out, accompanied by others who shared in her loathing, stood at the head of the crowd near the gate, pushed back by Imperial soldiers ordered to keep them at bay.

 _‘For the love of Dibella, what is going on here?’_ The carriage came to a stop and one by one everyone was getting off. Axelia looked to her side and saw a chopping block. Suppose her time was up. Who would have thought she was going to die with a bunch of nobodies, according to her. A general and a soldier by their side were calling out names. The man who stole a horse shouted out, “This is a mistake! I don't belong here!” He looked around frantically, seeing the wooden gate as his only way out, and declared, “You will never catch me!” He ran as fast as a bound man could, heading straight for the main gate. “Halt!” The general called out, issuing orders to her platoon. “Archers!” A line of archers readied their arrows and aimed it at the runaway. One arrow plunged through his back and he fell to the ground, dead. The soldier now turned his attention to Axelia, “You, Prisoner, step up. I don't think I know who you are.” He sifted through the list of names on the board he had in his hands, but couldn’t find any name out of place. “My name is Axelia,” she replied, stoic and undeterred in the face of imminent death. “You have returned home at the worst possible time, nord,” He answered with a shake of his head before looking to his side where the general was standing. “General, what do we do? She is not on the list.” 

“I don't care if she is not on the list, she goes to the block,” the redguard woman answered none too kindly. 

The soldier turned to Axelia once again, hesitating at first before meeting her with what seemed to be pity in his eyes. “I am sorry,” he told her, and gently grabbed Axelia's arm to lead her to the other stormcloaks.

In a set of lines with the other stormcloak soldiers, one of them shouted, “death to the imperials!”, she yelled. Then again, the imperial soldiers and the stormcloaks soldiers are having a war.

Now it was her turn to get her head chopped off. The general pushed Axelia down with her knee and held her against the chopping block. Axelia felt the fresh blood at her neck and forced herself not to cringe, it was still warm. Before the executioner can chop off her head, she saw a dragon soaring through the sky and heard a man shout, “What in Oblivion is _that_?!” The dragon, a large and black winged creature, landed on the hold above the town center and shouted, causing everyone to be pushed back. The shout hit Axelia’s head against the block, causing her to get a massive headache and her vision blurred momentarily, until Ralof came to her side and yelled above the roar and chaos, “Come with me, we have to get out of here!” The nord grabbed her arm to pull her into a building with the other surviving Stormcloaks, and Ulfric was among them. 

As Axelia and Ralof entered the building, Ulfric closed the door behind them, asking worriedly soon after, “Is everyone alright?” There were wounded stormcloaks on the ground and others tending to them. Ulfric continued, now looking at Axelia and Ralof, “You two, head upstairs. We will join you in a moment” Axelia was the first to make her move up the stairs, wanting to put as much distance between herself and the others quickly. Another stormcloak soldier was moving piles of rock to clear the next set of stairs, when all of a sudden the wall behind him exploded, burying him under more rocks. Axelia staggered back. The dragon had burst into the tower and sent more fire into the building, scorching her left side and arm before flying off again. Ralof ran up the stairs and saw Axelia on the ground. “Damn it,” he cursed under his breath as he reached out a hand to help her to her feet. “You see that house?” Ralof motioned down below towards a home set ablaze, continuing with his instructions, “I need you to jump over there and make it out. I'll meet you on the other side” He ran back down the stairs to Ulfric. Axelia looked at the nearby house that was all but broken down, taking a few steps back and readying herself for the impact. This was going to hurt. She made a ran at full speed and jumped as far as she could, falling through the broken roof of the house and landing harshly on the second floor, crashing onto the floor and damaging not only her already burned arm but twisting her ankle as well.

The landing hadn’t gone as smoothly as she thought it would but now she running out of the house, ignoring the pain of her ankle and gritting her teeth with each step. Just ahead of her was the soldier who was checking names earlier. He had his sword in his hand, watching precariously at his surroundings. He turned around and when he spotted Axelia he called out to her, “Come with me, prisoner, if you want to live!” Axelia didn’t miss a beat. She ran towards him, her hands still bound together. They both made their way behind a burned house, and an imperial soldier was shooting arrows at the dragon. This annoyed the dragon even more and it sent flames down on the soldier, burning him on contact. “Come on, we have to hurry!” the soldier who was with Axelia grabbed a hold of her right arm and lead her away. Axelia started to pant, she didn't have that much endurance for this. 

They came to a stop and Axelia looked to see what was the matter. Before them both was Ralof, a sword in his hand about ready to attack. “Hadvar, you traitor!” he shouted. Hadvar was the name of the soldier standing by Axelia. Hadvar unsheathed his sword and narrowed it down before him, facing Ralof, “This isn't our childhood anymore, Ralof. I can not believe you would go with the stormcloaks,” he said, infuriated. Ralof sighed with sadness before answering, “I guess most friendships come to end, don't they, Hadvar? Well, I am leaving and you can't stop me!” They both darted for different doors, both calling out to Axelia to join them.

“Come with me, prisoner, we have to get out of here!” Hadvar declared.

At the other door stood Ralof, ushering her to come with him “Axelia, come! There is not much time!”

She looked to both Ralof and Hadvar, choosing who to go with. Hadvar was having a feeling that she wouldn't go with him, but instead with Ralof. He would not blame her, the imperial soldiers were about to chop off her head. His instinct was true once again. He slumped his shoulders once he saw that Axelia ran towards Ralof and both disappeared behind the door. Now with that done, he opened the door he was holding and ran inside.


	2. Down The Rabbit Hole

Axelia and Ralof were now inside a building. Ralof took the lead and walked forward, only to stop and look at a fellow member of the stormcloaks lying dead on the ground. He knelt down next to his comrade and placed a hand on the man's still body, speaking softly. “May you find peace in Sovngarde,” he said with a hint of sorrow in his voice. Axelia, still with her hands bound together, walked towards him and Ralof rose from his kneeling position and turned his attention to her. “Here, let me help you with that,” he said with a calm voice, grabbing the ropes that tied Axelia’s hands. He pulled out his dagger and cut through the ropes, setting her hands free. “Thank you,” Axelia said appreciatively, massaging her wrists where the rope had been. 

“You should take his armor and weapons. It would do you better than the rags you are wearing. He certainly will not need it anymore” The man looked still.

Moments later, Axelia had put on the stormcloak armor, but instead of using the sword, she decided to use her magic. Both palms now engulfed in flames. 

Two gates were facing opposite from each other in the room. “Let's see if any of these gates open.” Ralof made his way to one gate, trying to pull it open. “No luck. Let’s see if the _other_ will open,” he said. Since Axelia was close to other gate, she tried to pry it open as well, with no chance of opening. She shook her head and said, “This one won't open either” She became still, hearing a scattering sound down the corridor. “Wait, do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” asked Ralof. 

It sounded like footsteps running down the hall. Ralof finally took notice and both he and Axelia shifted into a crouching stance.

“Over here. Open the gate!” A woman's voice, one that sounded familiar to Axelia. The voice belonged to the redguard woman, the general.

The pair started at the noise of keys jingling and the gate opening, an imperial soldier and the general walked in the room. Once they walked in, they were attacked by Ralof and Axelia. Ralof, with his sword unsheathed, attacked the imperial soldier while Axelia, with flames forming in her palms, started scorching the general. The fight did not last long. Ralof bent down to search the imperial soldier’s armor to look for the key, Axelia did the same with the general. “Here, I found it,” Axelia proclaimed, waving the keys in the air with her hand so Ralof can see. She hurriedly walked to the gate to try out the keys, and with the right key she finally managed to open the gate.

The whole rest of their exploring met with more fights with imperial soldiers and meeting up with fellow stormcloaks. Parting ways with the stormcloaks, Axelia and Ralof also came across spiders in the underground caverns, which terrified her. Luckily for her, Ralof was there to finish the deed and continue on their way. Next on their path, they came upon a sleeping bear. Axelia then finished the bear off by stealthily shooting an arrow through its head. Now without any more obstacles ahead, they finally made it out of that forsaken cavern. “To Oblivion with that! I will never face another spider again,” cried out Axelia, earning a stifled laugh from Ralof. He patted her head and shared some news to her, “You do realize that Skyrim is crawling with spiders, skeevers, sabers, and more dangerous creatures?” The look that Axelia gave him surely made him buckle over in a fit of laughter. Poor girl. Did she truly believe this land was safe? Not in the slightest!

A roar soon flooded the skies. The same black dragon that had burned down Helgen flew over them. “We have to hurry. It looks like it is headed towards Riverwood,” Ralof said in observation. They both started to run down the hill and quickly found a path that lead to the great river, Ralof taking the lead and heading in the direction of the small town. The atmosphere between the two was somewhat tense and grim, given the circumstances, until Ralof took it upon himself to break the stifling quiet and made a suggestion, hoping to gauge a response from her. “You should give a thought to joining the stormcloaks.”

“I’m not looking to join the fight any time soon,” Axelia replied.

“Well, if and when you ever do feel like joining, just make your way to Windhelm. I will make sure to put in a good word for you,” Ralof assured her, hoping a small grain of hope may have found its way to her.

“I’ll give it a thought,” she told him, if anything, just to get him leave her be.The thought had crossed her mind but it was only a fleeting notion. She didn't want to partake in any war, just live her meager life. But apparently that fantasy stayed as a fantasy, a dream she would wish in her heart almost every night. 

Axelia pulled a hood out from the back of the shirt she had found inside Helgen and drew it over her head, the shadow concealing most of her face. Ralof had walked on ahead for some time until he turned back to see if she was keeping up and found that she was still standing where he had left her. Curious, he stopped and approached her, asking if she was alright. Axelia, concealed face on all, shook her head. “I just need to keep my identity hidden. What really boils my blood is that they took my enchanted armor, which allowed me to conceal myself. It's most likely burned to ashes now, thanks to that overgrown reptilian,” Axelia said in frustration, throwing a hand in the direction where the dragon had flown off to. “But seriously, where did that dragon come from?” She scoffed and shook her head, crossing her arms in thought. “I'm just gonna have to lie low for now. I already have more than enough trouble, any more and I swear I’ll go crazy.” A memory jogged through Ralof’s mind as she spoke, pieces of a puzzle trying to fit into each other. _‘Why in obliv- wait...Axelia?’_ The pieces finally fell into place. _‘No wonder her name sounded familiar. That would explain why she wants to keep her identity hidden.’_ Ralof chanced taking a step closer to Axelia, now knowing who she truly was. “Now I understand why. However, you don't have to hide from me, Axelia. I will keep your secret safe,” he promised her, crossing a fist over his chest. Axelia gave an appreciative nod and smiled up at him before walking ahead. Ralof couldn't help but smile back, watching her walk past and down the path, a stray thought born from this revelation crossing his mind. _‘Who would've thought that the Emperor's daughter is quite the beauty? And what in oblivion am I thinking?’_ He shook his head vigorously, effectively preventing any more thoughts about his companion and began to follow after Axelia.

Again with the silence. Ralof didn't really like the silence, so he spoke up “um, Axelia? Why aren't you with your fathe-”  
“He is not my father!” Axelia yelled. There was a moment of silence between them, both stopped from walking. “But I thoug-” “tell me something Ralof, do I look like an imperial to you?” Axelia interrupted. “Well, no. you look like a nor- oh. That is what you mean. How did you find out, why are you all the way over here?” Axelia stayed quiet. “Okay, I can take the hint that you don't want to talk about it” Ralof continued walking forward, soon followed by Axelia.

Riverwood wasn't far from Helgen. Just a few more turns through mountain passes and the town was finally in view. Riverwood looked like a calm town, small and comfortable, with the most distinguishing features being a lumber mill and a large gate that gave a false sense of protection. After all, there were no guards posted. This brought up some concerns but Axelia chose to keep to herself. She will learn more behind this small mystery soon on her own, she assumed.

“This is where my sister lives,” Ralof commented before pointing out to a small hamlet at the foot of the mountain. “See that building up ahead on that mountainside? I would never understand why my sister would want to live under the shadows of that. But I guess the view is nice.” The two walked through the entrance of Riverwood and soon after Ralof went on his own for a few moments, searching for his sister. Axelia followed him regardless and they both encountered an older woman at the lumber mill, making her way around the processor.

After taking moments to talk with ralof sister and getting a key to stay whenever she likes, she took time to walk around riverwood. Axelia walked towards a shop called riverwoods trader and entered. An imperial woman and an imperial man were in a conversation “who would have done this?” asked the imperial man to the imperial woman which responded back “I do not know, brother. But can we just forget about it” that comment seemed to have a bother than imperial man, but before he could answer back he took notice of Axelia’s presence, “Oh, sorry, I didn't realize a customer came in,” he said. Axelia didn’t look away from the ground as she was trying to not show her face “I was just wondering if you have any healing potion?”. The imperial man shifted around and searched his cabinets for any healing potions and finally pulled one out “oh, it's right here” he said, placing a red bottle on the counter before him. Something on the left side of Axelia's arm caught the attention of the imperial woman _‘wonder what happened, maybe that's why she needs the potion. It looks like she burned herself’_ the woman walked over to a nearby table and sat on a chair still thinking what could have possibly made that on the mysterious woman, maybe a hagraven threw a fireball at her, or a flame atronach scorched her. Axelia stepped closer to the counter “how much?” she asked. The man gave it a thought “10 septims” he responded. She grabbed a coin pouch that was hanging loose on her armour and gave it to him, “this should be enough” she grabbed the bottle and headed for the door. Once she was outside, she held the bottle to her mouth to take a gulp. 

When the red liquid passed through Axelia's mouth, the burnt skin she had on her left side started to heal. She went back inside the shop to see if she can buy a dress, but something caught her attention. A helmet that was placed neatly on an end table _‘this should be suitable to cover my whole head, I wouldn't have to continue looking at the ground and bumping into someone'_ she thought to herself. “How much for this?” Axelia gestured over to the helmet she was starting at. The man turned around to look at the same helmet “that would be 250 septims, would you like to buy it?” he asked, now looking at Axelia. _‘I don't believe I have that much'_ she looked into her other coin patch that hanged around her hips, she only had 78 septims left. Axelia closed the pouch and looked at the man's hand, not wanting to look up to show her face “no, it is alright”. The man nodded and took the 10 septims that Axelia left on the counter. Axelia turned around to head out the door _‘I will come back for that helmet, it would be as easy as an apple pie to steal it'_ she chuckled and walked out.


	3. Can You See Me?

The town of Riverwood was quiet and peaceful when the darkness of night fell upon it. The shops were closed, almost everyone was asleep, and some young souls still stayed at the inn. Tonight seemed to be one of those nights where most of the citizens of Riverwood would hang around at the inn drinking and being merry, even listening to the bard, Sven. It was a perfect time for Axelia to borrow the helmet she wanted, considering the helmet would be helpful in not revealing her face at all. Axelia crept around the side walls of the Riverwood Trader, taking caution of her surroundings and not trying to alarm anyone or any guards. She peeked around the back of the shop where a set of stairs was leading up to the first floor of the shop. Each muffled step that Axelia took was not heard, especially creeping up the noisy stairs.

A guard walked down the road of Riverwood, when a moving shadow at the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned in time to see someone slip behind a wall. Curiosity got the better of him and he went to check it out. _‘What could someone be doing at this time at night?’_ he thought to himself. At last, he finally saw who that moving shadow belonged to. A Nord woman, who had a cloth wrapped around her head and neck, clothing that covered every inch of skin, was kneeling against a wall. Grasping his sword, he called to her in warning, “Stop!”

Without warning, Axelia whirled around in a quick motion and pinned the guard against the wall. With that quick turn, the hood that had been covering her face fell off, unveiling the guise. It was a guard that had approached her, and by the shock on his face he seemed to not know who Axelia was. The long, white, feather-soft hair, crystal eyes as cold as winter, and the royal purple warpaint tattoo displayed as three sets of lines crossing each other from her cheekbones up to between her eyebrows. He would recognize this face, and with that memory he would alarm the other guards to search for her and charge her for assaulting a guard. She couldn’t have that. The look on his face confirm Axelia’s thought that he did not know who she was. He opened his mouth, about to call for help, when Axelia moved her hand over his mouth and, in one quick motion, snapped his neck.

His body slumped to the floor, not quite upright against the wall Axelia had pinned him to, but it didn’t matter. Well, now with that done, she dragged the dead guard's body to a nearby barrel. The barrel was sealed shut, but for Axelia it was open. The guard’s armor had seemed suitable enough for her own use, so, she began undressing him. After his whole set of armor was removed, Axelia took of the clothes she had and changed into the new set of armor.

With the guard out of the way, nothing was going to stop her from stealing that helmet. The stairs led to another entrance to the Riverwood Trader, but it was locked. “Of course it would be locked, too many paranoid people,” she grumbled to herself. Axelia always found it easy to unlock doors, just a quick turn of a lockpick and the door would swing open for her, given her experience ever since her ‘friends’ trained her how. This door was no different, she kneeled down and entered a lockpick through the keyhole, and with a satisfying click the door opened. The room was dark when Axelia entered. The beds were unoccupied, so that must have meant the tenants were still at the Sleeping Giant Inn, most likely hearing Sven sing his lungs out. Camilla did like the way he sang, but was still unsure whether she loved Sven, the Nord, or Faendal, the Bosmer. _‘That doesn’t matter right now,’_ Axelia reminded herself. What did matter was getting the helmet. Axelia crouched down, remaining silent and hidden in the shadows as she made her way down the stairs crossing the shop swiftly and slipping behind the counter where Lucan would stand. Everything was left the way Axelia last saw it. Well, almost everything. The helmet wasn’t on the end table anymore. She looked around to see where it was placed. It wasn't on the counter with all the other weapons and armor, not on the bookshelves or with the ingredients, not even in a bucket full of potions. Axelia looked into the counter and, next to a couple of coin bags soon to be hers, sat the long-sought helmet she was searching for.

When she reached out to grab the helmet, the noise of the doorknob rattling caused her to freeze in anticipation.

“Why can't we just pack all our things and sell alongside the road, you know, like the Khajiit caravans?” a familiar female voice said, the shopkeeper's sister Camilla.

“You ask me that and you're still persistent, even after I say no. So, as always, the answer is still no, Camilla,” Lucan replied back.

Camilla sighed and followed after her brother as he walked towards the stairs. The two imperials went up to the first floor where their beds were. Axelia could hear their footsteps and their conversation. Still crouched, she creeped down the steps of the stairs. She could hear what they were talking about very clearly.

Lucan grabbed his mug full of nord mead and slammed it against the table he was sitting at. The noise startled Camilla as she was just lifting a blanket off her bed. “What's the matter?” she asked. Lucan gave her an irritated face “‘What's the matter?’ You're seriously asking?” Camilla didn't take the response none too kindly and raised her voice at him, “It's no wonder we don't get along. You're always so snobby and rude, snarling at me every chance you get. I came out here from Cyrodiil to help you and this is how you repay me? Makes me wish I never came, it would have been better if I stayed!” Lucan was taken back at the words that came out of Camilla's mouth. “I'm sorry, dear sister. Just having a headache,” he said apologetically. Camilla sighed and smiled, looking at Lucan, who she also apologized to for her own outburst. Camilla went to sit on the other side of the table, facing her brother. “Don't worry, Lucan. The golden dragon claw would be found and returned to us,” she said with a reassuring voice. Lucan shifted a little where he was seated, doubt clearly visible on his face. “How can you be so sure?” he asked. “Something tells me that it will happen. I just get this feeling that we will have it again soon enough, brother,” she responded. Camilla rose from her seat to grab a tankard off from a shelf behind her. She sat back down, grabbed a wine bottle that was on the table, and poured some of the liquid into her cup.

Axelia sat on the ground in thought, taking this into consideration. _‘I wonder how much that golden whatever thing would sell for. One thousand septims? If it's fake, maybe five hundred septims?’_ She placed her hand on her mouth, still in her state of thinking. _‘With that much gold, I could buy plenty of useful things. Like better armor, or gloves, or- since when do I buy things? Oh wait, I just bought a healing potion earlier.’_ Axelia chuckled to herself.

The room Axelia was in gleamed with a little bit of light that was coming from upstairs where Lucan and Camilla were. Axelia continued to crouch towards the helmet that she came here for. The helmet was only brought to Axelia's attention since it looked like it was made out of Argonian skin. But she knew that it wasn't, there was a clear difference between Argonian and whatever this was. Was it possibly Dragon scales? If it was, that wouldn't be surprising to her, considering she was almost burned to a crisp by one. Didn't hurt as much as she thought it would though, and she noticed that she was healing on her own. Maybe she didn't need to buy the potion that instantly healed her, and obviously the burnt scar would remain there. She hated scars, she didn't like the way they looked on her, but it told an intriguing story. Whoever made that potion must have been a great alchemist. Returning her thoughts to the mission at hand, Axelia knew that it wasn't Argonian skin, having been great friends with an Argonian herself in the past. Too bad he wasn't around to see what she had come against. That imperial bastard would have to pay for what he did to Ah-Jei. At this thought, Axelia closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. She came for this one thing. She’d be damned if she failed here.

The helmet seemed to be in perfect shape, the horns at the top gave a threatening look, and the fact that it looks like no one could see in the helmet meant it was perfect for Axelia to conceal her identity with ease. She moved it around in her hands, examining every inch. She liked it. The inside of the helmet was alright, not what she expected it to be, but still suitable. The fabric was strange, but the fact that it could cover her whole face was good enough reason to lift it. Now with the helmet she had wanted, she placed it in her bag, and then she looked at her arm that had been scorched. “What in Oblivion?!” Axelia exclaimed, shocked when she saw that there was no trace of the burnt mark that she thought would be on her arm. Nothing, as if the attack hadn’t happened at all.

Camilla and Lucan were getting ready from bed when they heard a shout coming from downstairs. Lucan was the first to get up, grabbing his iron sword before rushing down. When he saw the intruder, he lifted his sword to strike his foe, not caring who it was. His slash was going to come down hard, but the Nord woman had moved out of his sword’s range and moving back into the shadows before he could track her. Lucan had not seen where she had gone in that one attack, having lost her so easily in that one great swing. He searched in the dark, finding no sign of the intruder. “Where are you, thief?!” he yelled, visibly shaken due to his anger and panic. Camilla finally rushed downstairs with an iron dagger in her hand. She wasn’t much of a fighter but she would help if need be. Both imperials searched the ground floor, looking at the counter. Lucan ran over, hoping to see the woman there, but found no one there. Camilla looked under the table, but no sign of the woman.

Axelia took this moment to take her leave. She ran from behind the barrel and up the stairs, exposing her position to the tenants. “Found you!” Lucan bolted after her, sword primed and ready. Time to run! She bolted even faster and ran outside the door to Riverwood before Lucan could even catch her. He wouldn't stand a chance anyway, Axelia was faster and experienced in many things. When she made it outside, she sprinted past the Sleeping Giant Inn and out to the wilderness.

Lucan lost her. He pushed out the door to the outside and searched but he couldn't see her. A guard saw that Lucan was looking around desperately with a sword in his hand. The guard rushed over to the imperial and asked authoritatively, “What happened?” Lucan turned around and looked straight at the guard, shaking his head. “Another theft, only this time they stole the Dragonscale helmet!” he exclaimed.

The guard looked around as well, not knowing who he was looking for. “Describe what they look like,” he demanded.

Lucan stopped looking around, now staring at the ground. He didn't really know how she looked. She was basically covered up and had her head slouched down. With a vexed sigh he looked up to the guard and answered truthfully. “I don’t know. A female Nord? She was wearing some cloth over her head so I didn't really get a good look at her face. But her skin was white, fair colored skin. And uh… um… that's all I got..” he said with a disappointed look on his face.

“She had burnt marks on her left arm.” The guard and Lucan both turned to face Camilla, who had just come out from the Riverwood Trader. “Come again?” the guard asked. Camilla came to stand next to her brother, looking at each in turn. “From what I remember, she had burn marks covering her entire left arm. She was also wearing stormcloak armor when she came into the store earlier in the day. When we saw her just now, she was dressed as one of you, wearing the Whiterun guard armor,” she told them. “We will find this thief of yours. Hroeldr, Jiern, search the village for a guard looking to leave with a dragonscale helmet,” the guard ordered, watching as two others acknowledged and walked off in search of their quarry.

The guards immediately started to search the area, not knowing that Axelia was hiding behind a thistle bush, hearing the conversation. Now on alert, she abandoned Riverwood and headed down the road she was running on. She came upon a sign displaying city names and pointing in their respective directions. Seeing the name Ivarstead and an arrow pointing which way to go, she began the trek, leaving the village behind.


	4. Paths Taken

It was still nighttime when Axelia decided to head for Ivarstead. She had been there before, when she was just a little girl, back when everything seemed right. Her father would take her with him when he had some issues to deal with.

She didn't know if she really wanted to go to Ivarstead or some other nearby town, all she knew was she needed to leave quickly before the guards caught up to her. She ran down the path that led to Ivarstead. The moonlight complimented her skin color, it also gave her light to see where she was walking. There was a dirt path that seem to call out to Axelia, she couldn't help her curiosity and walked down the dirt road. It had led her to a dark cave, again with the curiosity that she couldn't resist. Axelia walked in, both hand engulfed in flames to light her way. The cave smelled rotten, as if something died in here and has stayed in here for who knows how long. The stench was strong enough to make her retch.

She continued forward, until she met the end of the cave, and the reason why there was such a horrible smell. Wolves. They were gathered around a pile of animals that have lost their lives. The wolves took notice of Axelia’s presence and starting growling and snarling at her. One wolf made the first attempt to attack her. Axelia, with her hand already readied with flames around them, scorched down the wolf that lunged at her. The rest of the wolves didn't take too kindly to their fellow being killed, and started to form around her. _‘Why must my curiosity always get the best of me. The shit I put myself through, I swear. One of these days I am going to die from my stupidity’_. She started sending flames out towards the wolves in all directions hoping to frighten them off. Did not work. She then turned, looking from her left, to right, forward, to back. Wolves, all around her. 

She was not going to go down like this, being killed by wolves. She is stronger than this, she should be killed by something that is way stronger and more terrifying than bugs.

The sword that was hanging on her side was swaying back and forth, as if calling out to her that it wanted to be used. By all means, why not. Axelia grabbed onto her iron sword with her right hand, while the other hand was occupied by the flames. She started to swing and scorch down the wolves, killing the ones that were in her way. Only three left behind.

She sprinted to a nearby rock that was too high for the wolves to jump on. With a running head start, Axelia was able to grab onto the ledge and pull herself up. She grabbed the bow that was on her back and tugged it over her, and pulled out an iron arrow from the quiver that was hanging from the other side of her hips. She aimed down from the rock, so she can shoot down the remaining wolves, but they weren't there. She heard a snarl to her left and right side. A rock way that led to the high rock that she was on. _‘Of course there will be a way up here’_ she shot an arrow at the wolf that was to her left, the arrow pierced through their head, killing them. She looked to her right, the wolf was almost close, but she also shot them down with an arrow through their eye. The third wolf was nowhere in sight. She looked behind her, the wolf wasn't there. She looked under the high rock, the wolf was also not there. But snarl behind her made her jump, she turned around quickly to face the wolf that was charging at her. Axelia had enough time to pull out an arrow from the quiver, but she didn't have enough time to place it with the bow, as the wolf lunged forward to her. Both her and the wolf slipped and fell from the high rock. Axelia hit the ground first, with the wolf falling right on top of her, knocking the air out of her lungs. The wolf cried out in pain, she looked down to see that the wolf had fallen right on top of the arrow, punctuating the wolfs lungs. Their whimper didn’t last long as she pushed the arrow farther up until it came out of the wolf's back..

Now with the wolf dead, She pushed the wolf off. Her shoulders were in pain, she did not expect that fall to hurt her as much as it did.

Axelia walked back out of the cave and into the night. A rumble came from her stomach, she was hungry. She didn’t remember the last time she ate, but she was really hungry. She had a chance to eat during the day when she was at Ralof’s sister’s house. The name of the sister was never learned, either she told Axelia or not. Axelia had a bad habit of forgetting things.The pain in Axelia’s left shoulder reminded her to fix it. It seemed to be dislocated. There was a nearby tree with a low hanging branch that she began to walk to. She placed her arm over the branch, and even though it hurt, she kneeled down slowly. The arm popped right back in place, Axelia winced from the pain and let out a gasp, but soon the pain disappeared, rather too quickly.

The night was beautiful, it was calming. Axelia slid down the tree and sat down. _‘I could just sleep right here, not like I need to be anywhere,’_ she told herself. And with that, Axelia rested her eyes for a bit.

The sound of leaves crunching made Axelia jump awake. She looked around to see what made that noise. The sight of a large spider sent chills down Axelia’s back. _‘By Meridia, you are one ugly looking spider. Why do you have to look so disgusting, ew.’_ she backed up, if there was one thing that scared Axelia the most, it was big ugly bugs. The spider scared her. Axelia reached for the bow, but there was nothing there, she must have left the bow back in the cave. She reached for her sword, but it wasn't on her hip either. The only thing she had left was the iron dagger that was tied in front of her abdomen. She held the dagger in front of her face and she looked at it with such disappointment _‘What kind of protection will this little thing give me from that hideous spider?’_ she slightly whimpered. The spider was spitting poison at her, not with good aiming. It was nearing closer. With a panic, Axelia threw the dagger at the spider, embedding itself into it’s back, however the spider did not seem to stop, and this frightened Axelia. She engulfed both her hands in flames, shooting fireballs at the creature. This seemed to slow down the spider. Axelia sent more power into her fire, finally killing the spider. She was breathing heavily, she bent over, setting her hands on her thigh, breathing fast. How much she hated bugs, all of them.

Axelia walked back into the cave to retrieve her belongings and came back out. The sun was starting to peer in. The sky was beautiful at this time, it made Axelia feel warm. She continued her path.

The previous stop wasn't that far from Ivarstead, maybe one more mile and Axelia would make it. An Orc man approached Axelia. “I've got a great deal for you, if you're willing to trade?” he asked. Axelia saw the clothes he was wearing, rags, the same one she had when she was on the carriage ride. “Um, no thank you,” she replied. Axelia tried to walk on, but the Orc placed a hand in front of her “Come on, you're missing out,” he crooned. Then, in a quick motion, the Orc pulled out Axelia’s iron sword and sprinted down a rocky road that led away from Ivarstead “Hey!” she called out right after him. She sprinted after him, gaining upon him, when he jumped onto a rock and started climbing up. Axelia wanted to follow right after him, but then stopped and had a split-second thought, _'Wait, why am I running after him? I can just shoot him with an arrow!’_ Axelia pulled the bow over her and readied an arrow, she aimed it right at the Orc and let it fly. The arrow soared through the air and hit the Orc’s back. The Orc scrunched up in pain and fell off the wall, taking a high fall, hitting the ground hard, killing him.

Axelia walked right up to his dead body and pulled the iron sword away from him. “Thank you very much.” She headed back down the rocky road leading to ivarstead. The sky was clearing up now, the sun creeping up higher into the sky, giving a clear view around her.

Moments later and one tired Axelia finally made it to Ivarstead. Ivarstead looked like a small cozy town. Axelia walked up a path that led to Vilemyr Inn. She walked in and headed towards a Nord man that was standing behind the counter. “Can I have a vegetable soup?” asked Axelia, hoping to satisfy her hunger. “And a bottle of Nord mead,” noting her thirst. “Yeah, sure,” he replied. Axelia looked around her and found there was no one inside the tavern besides the Nord that was making her order. Wouldn't blame them, it is early in the morning. Axelia sat down on the stool that was in front of the counter. “Here.” The man placed the bowl of vegetable soup and a bottle of Nord mead in front of her. Without thinking twice, Axelia dug right into the food. It didn't last long and neither did the drink. Then a random thought came to mind. _‘And forgot that Ralof's sister asked me to tell the Jarl of Whiterun about the dragon. Whoops.’_ “Um, thank you. Here.” Axelia placed some septims onto the counter and walked out of the Inn. Now the sun was somewhat over the sky, seemed like it could be at 5 or 6 in the morning.

Even though she was really tired, Axelia started to make her way to Whiterun.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if it seemed so... eh. This is my first time trying out this 'writing a story' thing. I love playing Skyrim ^^ it's one of my favorite game :D I'm also sorry if my chapters end up being short ;-; ----- Anything related to Skyrim or the Elder Scrolls is all property of Bethesda, I own nothing. (New chapters will be coming soon, but right now there are problems happening that i need to fix first. I promise i won't forget to come back to this and continue.)


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